Maintaining the Home:
Interior Maintenance
Discovering the Secrets of Successful Storage
"Where do I put it all?"
"If I put it away, I never can find it again."
"If I can't see it, I won't use it."
Do these storage problems sound similar to your own? Take action and save time by organizing your storage now. Begin by planning for better use of existing space by s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g your storage. Keeping things where you can find them at a moment's notice saves time and energy, making life a little easier.
Start your storage plans by considering:
- Space you have available.
- Items to be stored.
- Resources available to you - including money to purchase storage accessories; skills you have to make items; and the time required to organize, plan and build.
The following are some basic clues to successful storage:
Sort — Arrange items carefully. Many of us store leftovers we throw away the next time we clean the refrigerator. This also applies to storage. We keep many items only to give or throw them away later. These items take up valuable space while we are waiting to take action.
Store — Store articles at point of use. Since many activities - sewing, hobbies, meal preparation - require much getting out and putting away, they can be carried out more smoothly if needed materials and equipment are stored close to the activity.
Rearrange — Reorganize the space to fit the article to be stored. Don't let tradition trick you into thinking the space must be used for specific items. Store similar items by stacking or placing one behind the other. Store unlike items either in one row or in one layer.
Plan — Prepare for flexibility of storage space. Use adjustable shelving, sliding trays or movable storage accessories. Plan for changing interests and new purchases.
Tips for Successful Storage
The following are practical suggestions for making the most of your storage space, old or new. They can also help you save wear and tear on tempers and supplies.
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Get rid of items you don't use or need anymore. This will give you
space for more important things.
Give away items that have not been used for a year to someone who can use them.
Throw away if things are not usable.
Sell Away items that are of good quality but no longer needed. They may be sold at thrift shops or secondhand stores. - Put seldom used or out-of-season articles in boxes or bags in your less-accessible storage areas. This will provide more convenient space for the things you use every day. You may have been using as much as 24 cubic feet of space under your bed for storing dust and lost socks. Make that lost space work for you by building containers out of cardboard boxes.
- Save steps by storing articles near where they will be used. Mending time is often lost searching for thread. A pegboard, or board with nails, divided by colors can save the frustration of rummaging through boxes of spools.
- Place items within easy reach. The more accessible items are, the more apt you are to put them back. Toys and tools should be accessible and easy to put back because of their frequent use. If you have no shelves, an inexpensive alternative is to use bolt boards or particle boards stacked with bricks or large juice cans (covered with adhesive paper) between them. When the shelves are in place, purchase some plastic dishpans and label them with various categories of supplies, toys, materials or equipment. These dishpans, kept on homemade shelves, will keep articles within easy reach.
- Group together articles of a similar nature. You can lose several hours sifting through large coffee cans of mixed nails and screws. A simple solution is to store heavy objects in tin cans with contents clearly labeled. Glass jars have the advantage of immediate content visibility. To save space, affix the lids of screw-top jars to the underside of a shelf with two screws.
- Place things so you can easily see them to avoid a frantic search. Many people lose their keys at some point. Using a key board can help avoid this. Cut a board in the shape of a key and add cup hooks on which to hang keys. Or, add hooks to a bulletin board or mini tack board.
- Arrange articles so you can remove them without disturbing other things. This way you can avoid missing, crushing or knocking things over.
- Build to fit your storage needs but keep your storage flexible. For example, use adjustable shelves. Increase storage space in a closet by adding a lower hanging rod. Cut an old broom handle the length you would like the rod to be, suspend it with two lengths of rope looped around the existing rod and tie it to the ends of the lower rod.
- Design drawers, shelves and trays to fit the sizes and shapes of articles you will be storing. Make heavy, corrugated cardboard dividers to fit any size drawer and make sections to fit the stored items. Use cardboard tubes from bathroom tissue to store electrical cords. Coil the cord, push it into the tube and store it in a drawer.
- Protect your belongings from dust, sun, dampness, insects, rats and mice. Plan for any special conditions needed for storage, such as refrigeration or protection from moisture. Sealed plastic bags will guard clean woolen clothing from moths and dust. Infrequently used silver will not tarnish as rapidly if wrapped in specially treated cloths or in self-sealing plastic.
- The basic secrets for successful storage are planning, organizing and action, but the best plans are worthless if no action is taken.
This material was adapted from publications produced by New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension.
